Over two hundred years ago, African American worshippers at St. George's Methodist Church in Philadelphia were pulled from their knees during prayer by some Caucasian congregants. One of the African Americans, Richard Allen, asked that they be allowed to finish prayer, after which they would then leave and trouble St. George's no more. The year was 1787. In the days that were to come, Richard Allen and those few men and women founded the church that became the African Methodist Episcopal Church. The new congregation worshipped in a blacksmith's shop that Allen purchased with his own money. Allen, who later became Bishop Richard Allen, preached in the blacksmith shop, with an anvil as his pulpit, a doctrine of self-help. He taught the people that they should rely on God and their own resources to make a difference in their lives, their church and their community.
Today, the legacy of Richard Allen continues with new fervor and unfailing commitment in the Reverend Floyd H. Flake as he pastors this church named for the founder: The Greater Allen Cathedral of New York.
The Greater Allen Cathedral of New York, founded in 1834, continues to demonstrate a strong commitment to God and to God's people. Pastor Floyd H. Flake and Co-Pastor M.Elaine Flake have led the congregation to unparalleled heights through obedience to God's vision, praise and worship, Christian education, basic education, economic empowerment and political and social action.
God, through His servant, is transforming people into God's image, the church into a place of salvation, power, health and wholeness, and the community into a village; a good place to live because of people who care.
